REPORT 


OF  THE 

COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY 

CONCERNING  PLANS  FOR  THE 

Interchurch  World  Movement 

OF 

North  America 


JANUARY 
19  19 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY 


On  December  17,  1918,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Home  and  Foreign  Mission  Boards  and  allied 
agencies  met  in  conference  in  New  York  City  at  the  call  of  the 
Foreign  Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
-States  to  consider  the  advisability  and  feasibility  of  a united 
'campaign.  The  entire  day  was  spent  in  the  consideration  of 
this  question  and  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  time  was 
ripe  for  such  a campaign. 

A committee  of  twenty  was  appointed  to  outline  a plan  to  be 
submitted  to  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  Amer- 
ica, the  Home  Missions  Council,  the  Council  of  Church  Boards 
of  Education,  the  Sunday  School  Council,  the  Federation  of 
Women’s  Boards  of  Foreign  Missions  and  the  Council  of 
Women  for  Home  Missions. 

I This  Committee  presents  the  following  report  to  these 
'agencies  for  approval  and  favorable  recommendation  to  their 
iconstituent  bodies : That  there  be  organized 

THE  INTERCHURCH  WORLD  MOVEMENT  OF 
NORTH  AMERICA 

■ I.  Purpose 

To  present  a unified  program  of  Christian  service  and 
J to  unite  the  Protestant  churches  of  North  America  in 
the  performance  of  their  common  task,  thus  making 
available  the  values  of  spiritual  power  which  come  from 
' unity  and  coordinated  Christian  effort  and  meeting  the 
unique  opportunities  of  the  new  era. 

II.  Interests  Included 

While  primarily  a Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Movement,  the  movement  is  to  be  broad  enough  to 
cover  all  those  interests  in  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada outside  of  the  local  church  budget  which  are  natur- 
ally related  to  the  missionary  enterprise  through  na- 
tional agencies — denominational  or  interdenominational. 

III.  Methods 

1.  Organization 
(1)  National 

a.  General  Committee  of  approximately  one 
hundred. 

b.  Executive  Committee  not  to  exceed  fifteen. 

c.  Canadian  Council. 

(The  questions  involved  in  the  movement 
! that  are  peculiar  to  the  Dominion  of  Can- 

ada, should  be  referred  to  the  Canadian 
Council.) 


(2)  State  and  Local  •• 

The  organization  throughout  the  country  in 
each  state  and  local  community  of  all  the  Chris- 
tian forces  into  some  form  of  inter-church  com- 
mittee or  federation. 

2.  Sun^ey 

A thorough  united  survey  of  the  home  and  foreign 
fields  of  tlie  world  for  the  purpose  of  securing  accu- 
rate and  complete  data  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done 
by  the  combined  churches  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
hour,  and  of  at  least  the  next  five  years. 

3.  Education  and  Publicity 

A thoroughgoing  educational  and  publicity  cam- 
paign to  carry  the  facts  of  the  survey  to  the  entire 
Protestant  church  constituency  in  America  and  to 
every  mission  station  throughout  the  world  where 
the  churches  of  North  Aemrica  are  at  work. 

4.  Field  Campaign 

A field  campaign  for  the  purpose  of  arousing  the 
church  to  a realization  of  the  urgency  of  united  effort 
in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  community,  the  nation 
and  the  world,  and  of  inspiring  and  organizing  the 
Christian  forces  to  undertake  an  adequate  world 
program.  This  field  campaign  to  include  a series  of 
regional  conferences  to  be  begun  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible moment,  followed  by  conventions  and  training 
conferences  throughout  the  country,  to  acquaint  the 
churches  with  the  message,  plans  and  methods  of  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement  of  North  America,  to 
appeal  for  the  resources  of  spiritual  power,  life  and 
money  called  for  by  the  survey  and  to  organize  all 
the  forces  for  the  carrying  out  of  their  full  part  of 
the  program. 

5.  United  Budget  and  Treasury 

A united  budget  which  shall  constitute  the  finan- 
cial objective  and  which  shall  be  presented  to  the 
constituency  of  the  cooperating  agencies  together 
with  the  educational  and  spiritual  objectives  of  the 
movement.  It  is  clearly  understood  that  the  united 
movement  shall  not  displace  or  interfere  with  the 
autonomy  and  responsibility  of  administration  of  the 
cooperating  agencies,  and  it  is  urged  that  all  Linds 
should  be  sent  as  far  as  possible  directly  to  the 
treasurers  of  such  agencies  from  their  natural  con- 
stituencies, but  in  view  of  the  necessity  of  provi- 
sion for  receiving  and  distributing  any  funds  that 
might  be  contributed  to  it  without  being  sent 


through  denominational  treasurers  a central  treasury 
be  established  to  which  funds  given  for  the  united 
budget,  but  contributed  through  ordinary  church 
channels,  may  be  reported  by  the  cooperating 
agencies,  and  through  which  donors  who  so  elect 
may  contribute  directly  to  the  united  budget.  The 
functions  of  this  central  treasury  shall  not  be  admin- 
istrative but  to  assemble  and  report  the  financial 
facts  connected  with  the  campaign,  disburse  funds 
for  the  common  expenses  of  the  campaign,  and  serve 
as  a clearing  house  between  the  cooperating  agencies 
in  order  to  insure  to  each  its  pro  rata  share  of  the 
funds  secured,  as  agreed  on  in  advance  by  its  per- 
centage in  the  united  budget. 

6.  Financial  Drive 

A united  financial  campaign  in  the  spring  of  1920, 
or  whenever,  in  the  judgment  of  the  leaders  of  the 
movement  the  churches  are  sufficiently  prepared,  to 
secure  the  funds  shown  by  the  survey  to  be  needed 
to  carry  through  the  world  program  on  an  efficiency 
basis. 

7.  Conservation  and  Extension 

A conservation  and  extension  program  to  be 
worked  out  as  the  movement  progresses  to  insure 
the  sustained  cooperation  of  all  the  forces  involved. 

8.  Expenses  of  the  Movement 

The  movement  to  be  financed  out  of  funds  secured 
and  not  by  direct  assessment  upon  the  participating 
bodies. 

IV.  Immediate  Steps 

If  and  when  the  foregoing  proposals  shall  have  been 
recommended  for  submission  by  the  Foreign  Missions 
Conference  and  Home  Missions  Council  to  their  partici- 
pating bodies,  the  Committee  of  Twenty  shall  proceed  to 
complete  the  organization  by  choosing  members  of  the 
general  committee  who  shall  act  with  full  authority  to 
carry  out  the  .foreg'oing  proposals. 


S.  Earl  Taylor,  Chairtnan 
William  B.  Millar,  Secr'etary 


Mrs.  Fred  S.  Bennett 
J.\MEs  E.  Clarke 
Miss  Mabel  Chatty 
D.  D.  Forsyth 
William  H.  Foulkes 
Principal  Alfred  Gandier 


John  R.  Mott 
Cornelius  H.  Patton 
Mrs.  Henry  W.  Peabody 
Fred  B.  Smith 
Robert  E.  Speer 
James  M.  Speers 
James  I.  Vance 


(R.  P.  Mackay,  Alternate) 
Fred  P.  Haggard 
F.  H.  Knubel 

Bishop  William  Lawrence 


(Charles  H.  Pratt,  Alternate) 
Charles  R.  Watson 
Charles  L.  White 
J.  Campbell  White 


(Bishop  A.  S.  Lloyd,  Alternate) 


